


this love ain't made for the faint of heart

by hexmionegranger



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, F/F, Femslash, I'm just saying, Pansy is definitely Hades, background dramione, this is a much nicer retelling of the Hades/Persephone myth, written for hprarepairnet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 23:04:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9293561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexmionegranger/pseuds/hexmionegranger
Summary: Pansy blinked herself, trying to make sense of this story. “Are you aware,” she began, forcing anger and fire into her voice, pulling herself up a little taller and clutching her hand tighter around her staff. “That you are in the underworld?”The girl hummed in thought and then nodded. “Yes, that makes sense, I think.”Pansy shook her head. “This is my house. And you are alive. It is far from your time to be here, pretty girl. Get out.”Blonde hair swished as the girl shook her head, stepping further into the house. “Hmm. It’s actually quite nice down here, don’t you agree?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> _Everyone will say it’s dangerous to take this path_  
>  Everyone will tell us apart that we are more intact  
> Everyone will say that we’re crazy and that we won’t last  
> Everyone will tell us alone that we are better off
> 
>  
> 
>  _This love ain’t made for the faint of heart_  
>  When it’s love, it’s tough  
> This love ain’t made for the faint of heart  
> Real love is tough  
> \- Tegan and Sara, _Faint of Heart_

It wasn’t that the underworld was  _lonely_ , per se. Just that Pansy occasionally got frustrated with the fact that the only company she had was mostly dead, and generally terrified of her. It wasn’t  _her_  fault that she needed to be intimidating on occasion. Nor, she maintained steadily, was it her fault that she was running this show anyways. She was still convinced that Harry and Draco had cheated when they had drawn lots, leaving her to suffer in the unseen world for the rest of eternity.

At least she had Cerberus. But her dog wasn’t particularly engaging company. And so, she was bored. And lonely. At least the guests she did have could never leave.

And then – something changed.

Pansy had been lounging in her throne, trying to decide if it was worth it to repaint her nails to a different shade of black, when something alerted her that someone had entered the underworld. Someone  _alive_.

Pushing herself to her feet, she picked up her staff (she was short and thin, she needed  _something_  to convey how intimidating she could be) and headed to the entrance of the underworld. Standing in the hallway was a girl. Tall and lithe, with long blonde hair that had various flowers weaved through it. The girl was peering around pensively, and Pansy blinked in slight confusion. This girl certainly didn’t  _look_  like some hero, here to rescue the lost soul of her fiancé, or whatever reason she had for being there.

But looks could be deceiving.

Pansy cleared her throat, and the girl turned to examine her.

“Hello.” The girl said, and her voice was soft and musical and Pansy narrowed her eyes further.

“Hello.” Pansy responded, placing her free hand on her hip. “May I ask what you think you’re doing here?”

The girl blinked her large blue eyes once, and then twice, before glancing around again. “Well, I’m not entirely sure. I was picking flowers, you see, in this beautiful meadow. And I stumbled upon your front door, I suppose. Clearly I was led to it, so I decided to investigate.”

Pansy blinked herself, trying to make sense of this story. “Are you aware,” she began, forcing anger and fire into her voice, pulling herself up a little taller and clutching her hand tighter around her staff. “That you are in  _the underworld_?”

The girl hummed in thought and then nodded. “Yes, that makes sense, I think.”

Pansy shook her head. “This is my  _house_. And you are  _alive_. It is far from your time to be here, pretty girl. Get out.”

Blonde hair swished as the girl shook her head, stepping further into the house. “Hmm. It’s actually quite nice down here, don’t you agree?”

“Clearly you do not know  _who I am_.” Pansy seethed, banging her staff once against the ground. Cerberus barked in the background and she listened to the skittering of his footsteps as he rushed towards her. The dog was taller than her hips, his three heads swayed menacingly and for the most part, mortals and non-mortals alike were terrified of him.

The pretty girl bent down, reached a hand out towards his middle head to sniff. Then, she scratched behind one of his ears and Cerberus, her supposedly terrifying guard dog, whimpered appreciatively and dropped down to the ground in front of the girl, happy to take the affection.

Pansy sputtered.

The girl looked up at her and smiled from her place on the floor, eyes twinkling mischievously and a unique grin tugging at her lips. “I’m Luna.” She introduced herself, and looked around again. “Do you have flowers down here?”

Pansy blinked again, lifting a hand up to rub at her forehead in confusion. “Obviously? It’s the  _underworld_ , it’s not…  _Mars_.”

Luna nodded and stood up again, brushing off her knees and then her hands. “Perfect.” And then she stepped past Pansy and into the house, leaving Pansy standing in the main room, with no idea what had just happened.

* * *

What had  _happened_  was that Luna had moved in. For reasons unknown to Pansy, the blonde girl had decided that she actually quite  _liked_  the underworld, and she was staying.

At least, Pansy decided, she was pretty. But  _still_! Pansy had a reputation to maintain, the need to stay in charge of her domain, to prevent lost souls from leaving. And now this little blonde thing had decided she liked it and moved in.

Pansy still wasn’t entirely sure why she had let her. For all intents and purposes, she simply could have kicked the girl out. Told her that she was by no means staying, and forced her to leave. But… Luna was company, and Pansy was lonely. She was good company, too. Came to meals with Pansy, though she didn’t eat – clearly aware of the rules. She took Cerberus for walks, and planted more flowers than Pansy could imagine in the gardens.

And one day, she followed Pansy to work.

She was curious, she explained, of exactly what it was that Pansy did. So she tagged along, and asked a hundred questions. And Pansy thought it was absurd, that this quiet little thing seemed to think that she could  _handle_  Pansy’s job.

And yet.

Luna was surprisingly  _good_  at it? She was lovely and calming and quiet, speaking to recently arrived souls in a way that seemed to calm them down and make them feel better. And then, when someone got it into their head that they wanted to  _leave_ , she switched almost immediately into  _terrifying_. And Pansy… kind of loved it.

* * *

One day, things changed. **  
**

Luna and Pansy had fallen into a rhythm. Luna would join her for breakfast, and then follow her to work. For the most part, she had started doing the job herself, and Pansy watched from beside her, unable to keep the grin of pride off her face.

After lunch, they would wander through the garden, Luna’s fingers skimming over the pomegranate trees that lined Pansy’s grounds.

Often then they sat together, Luna usually reading and Pansy drawing. She was three-quarters of the way through a sketch that afternoon, of Luna lounging in a beam of sunlight with Cerberus draped across her lap, one hand scratching lazily at his ears, when there was a knock on the front door.

Luna glanced up but did not move, and Pansy sighed and set aside her sketch book, grabbing her staff as she headed for the door again. She wasn’t usually a fan of interruptions, and she didn’t usually have to deal with them - most people, and gods, knew better.

Pulling open the door, Pansy was met with the one and only Oliver Wood. He was standing at the door, shuffling awkwardly from one winged-sneaker to the other.

“Pansy.” He greeted, rather uncomfortably.

Pansy raised an eyebrow at him and placed one hand on her hip. “Oliver. To what do I owe this… visit?”

Oliver cleared his throat awkwardly, and then glanced around Pansy’s shoulder to where Luna was lounged with the dog. He glanced quickly back to Pansy, who was tapping her staff against the ground rather impatiently. “Right. Well, you see. Harry sent me. It seems that, uh… Molly’s shown up ranting and raving about the fact that Luna disappeared. And then I said that she was here, because I saw her yesterday when I was bringing by a group of souls, and anyways. Molly is  _not happy_  and so Harry says you have to come up to the mountain tomorrow and bring Luna.”

Pansy rolled her eyes at him. “And why would I do that?”

Oliver closed his eyes and took a breath, before reopening them to glare at her. “Look. I’m just the messenger, right? But Harry seemed pretty insistent that you bring Luna back up there to return her, and you  _don’t_  want a pissed off Molly trying to come down here. You just don’t.”

Pansy lifted her hand to rub slightly at her temple. Oliver was right. Molly could be a nightmare – though why she was so angry about Luna, Pansy wasn’t sure. But there was a reason she didn’t go up to the mountain – the whole lot of them were absolutely infuriating and she just didn’t have the patience to deal with them all. But if Harry demanded it…

“Fine. Tell him that I’ll come tomorrow. Goodbye, Oliver.” Without waiting for a response from the messenger god, Pansy slammed the door in his face and stalked back over to her chair.

“Molly is angry that you’re here.” Pansy explained, looking up at Luna and raising an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

Luna shrugged one shoulder, clearly unaffected. 

Pansy sighed, glancing up at the ceiling and then back down at the vaguely infuriating blonde girl. “She’s not  _your_  mother though, is she?”

Luna shook her head. “My mother died years ago.” Her voice was surprisingly emotionless, and Pansy frowned at it - as far as she knew, Luna hadn’t sought out her mother while she was here. “Molly took me under her wing, so to speak. She taught me a lot about flowers, and gardens. Really she’s quite lovely. Just a bit…” Luna trailed off and then shrugged. “Just a bit overbearing.”

Pansy nodded and picked up her sketch pad. “Well. She’ll survive, I’m sure.”

Luna laughed, tinkling and musical, and stretched a little more over her chair. “Yes,” she said, with a smile. “I think she might.”

* * *

That evening, Luna suggested another walk in the garden before bed. Lately, Pansy had been struggling a bit with going against what Luna wanted, and so she agreed with a smile. **  
**

Outside, Luna paused. “Pansy,” she said quietly. Pansy paused as well, and looked over at the girl. “I’ve so enjoyed our time together.”

Pansy couldn’t help but smile at this, and she reached up to pluck a ripe pomegranate from the tree they stood beside. She weighed it in her palm, and then cracked the fruit open, scooping out a few seeds and tossing them back into her mouth. 

Then, something occurred to her. She didn’t actually want Luna to leave her. In fact, she had grown quite used to the blonde’s company. Luna had fit herself perfectly into Pansy’s life, and Pansy could no longer imagine what it would be like to be here without the girl. And so, she acted. 

“Catch,” Pansy said, and tossed the fruit to Luna, who caught it deftly in one hand. The blonde looked down at the fruit, rolling it in her hand so she could see the seeds more clearly. 

Luna hummed softly and then moved towards Pansy, pausing when they were less than a foot apart. She looked down at the pomegranate again, and then without hesitation lifted the sweet fruit to her lips and took a large bite. 

Pansy’s eyes widened as she realized what had happened, and watched, entranced, as dark red juice dribbled down Luna’s chin. The blonde was smiling, clearly amused and pleased with herself, and Pansy couldn’t help it. She closed the distance between them and pressed their lips together, tasting the sweet fruit on Luna’s lips and something else, a taste that was entirely Luna’s. 

Luna didn’t pull away. Instead, she tossed the fruit behind her and wrapped her small fingers around the back of Pansy’s neck, keeping their heads together as their bodies melted forward into one another. 

Pansy could only register one quick thought: she was in big, big trouble.

* * *

Pansy hated the mountain. She was always reminded there of what she lost. The air and the sky, her  _family_  sitting around chatting. No one ever came to visit  _her_ , not that she would want them to. But really. Banish her to the underworld and then expect that she only ever visit  _them_? Please. **  
**

Standing outside the room, listening to their voices and laughter bleed under the doors, Pansy felt her blood start to boil. And then a small hand was wrapping around her own, twining their fingers together and  _squeezing_. Pansy glanced over at Luna who flashed her a mysterious smile, and she took a breath before she reached up to push the door in front of them open. Neither of them noticed that the typically lush grounds of the mountain were barren around them, or that a cold wind whistled through the empty trees. 

Harry sat in the middle of a large semicircle, his wife Ginny on his right side. Also in attendance was the sea god Draco and his wife, the fierce and brilliant demigod Hermione, along with a variety of other unimportant gods. Standing in front of all of them was Molly, and when Luna and Pansy entered the room she rushed forwards, gathering Luna into her arms and pulling her away from Pansy in the process. 

“Luna, oh Luna! How I’ve missed you,” Molly gushed, and started to check over the girl - no doubt looking for injuries or damages. “Oh, Luna you’ve gotten so thin! Thank goodness, so you knew better than to eat anything  _she_  offered you.” Molly turned then to glare at Pansy, who narrowed her eyes in response and dropped her free hand onto her hip. 

Luna shook Molly off carefully, and took a step backwards, back towards Pansy. “Hello, Molly.” She greeted, and then looked over the woman’s shoulder towards Harry. “Harry,” she began. Her voice was soft and careful but Pansy knew her better now, she could see the fire flickering in Luna’s eyes and Pansy couldn’t keep the smirk off her lips. “Why are we here?”

Harry raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at Pansy and then back at Luna. “Well, Molly’s been quite worried. After you were kidnapped-”

Pansy’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?” She snapped, finally taking a step forwards. “After she was  _what_?”

Molly stepped forwards as well, clearly meaning to put herself between Pansy and Luna. “Well. Clearly you kidnapped her. There just isn’t any other conceivable reason as to why she would have been down there, or have stayed down there. And now she’s safe and can stay up here.”

“Actually-” Luna began, but Ginny was speaking. 

“Low even for you, Pansy. Can’t even find a willing mortal girl to love you so you  _steal_  a goddess. Typical.”

Pansy was fuming now, clenching her hand so tightly around her staff she was sure her knuckles were bone white. And then there was a soft hand on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. 

“Actually.” Luna spoke again, louder this time. Ginny and Molly turned their attention towards her, and Harry nodded for her to continue. “I did eat while I was there. Some pomegranate seeds.” Luna paused and turned to look at Pansy, grinning at her as though she had hung the moon. “They were simply too delicious to resist.”

Pansy smiled in return - briefly hating how  _soft_  she was becoming - and Molly sputtered at the two of them. “Luna! Surely you knew better!” Molly threw her hands in the air and spun to face Harry, pointing a finger accusingly at him. “Well?” She snapped. “How you going to fix this?”

Harry looked back at the two women in the middle of the room, so captivated by each other’s gazes they seemed to be nearly oblivious to the chaos around them. He looked over at Molly, red faced in anger. Then he glanced at Ginny, who was frowning in thought and watching Lavender - the goddess of love - who was grinning nearly deviously. Then, finally, he glanced to Hermione, his advisor in almost all matters. She shrugged. 

“It’s simple, really. Luna will have to spend at least part of the year with Pansy in the underworld. No less than six months. How she chooses to spend the remaining six months shall be up to her.” Hermione decided, with a nod. 

Molly gasped and stepped towards Harry, clearly trying to be menacing. “How… how  _dare_ you!”

Harry shrugged. “You know the rules, Molly. She ate. Luna,” he called, and the girl finally looked away from Pansy to glance in his direction. “Bringer of chaos,” he laughed, and Pansy couldn’t help but laugh as well. “You will spend six months of every year with Pansy in the underworld. You will spend the other six here with Molly, if that is what you wish.”

Pansy stepped forward again and caught Luna’s hand in her own. Molly seemed ready to protest, and Pansy decided she was done. With a quick tug, she pulled Luna away, and they burst from the hall together, matching grins on their faces. 

“Bringer of chaos,” Pansy repeated in nearly a whisper, and Luna laughed delightedly. “My beautiful girl.” She added, and Luna threw her arms around Pansy’s neck and kissed her deeply, and for the first time, Pansy did not resent the other gods for their places on the mountain, their lives in the sun. She planned to stay in the underworld with Luna happily - she would never be truly lonely again.

**Author's Note:**

> Another one that I wrote originally for the [hprarepairnet](hprarepairnet.tumblr.com)'s get to know our member challenge! If you're not following the net (or [me](hexmionegranger.tumblr.com)) on tumblr, we'd/I'd really appreciate it! :D


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